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Reisner Ribbon Cutting 9/12/09

Welcome, good morning and thank you for being here. As an old soldier, I know that an army marches on its stomach. While I dont think a university marches on its collective stomach, I do believe it is at least double-timing it.

Aside from changes brought on by new technology, one aspect of university life that has changed the most, to me, is dining and food services. When Reisner Dining Hall was built in 1965, I dont think any of its designers or builders  or members of the campus community  could have envisioned what we are re-opening today.

Let me just highlight a few of the changes in this facility:

Cooking areas have been moved into the main dining area and are more interactive

Student dining space was expanded and a variety of seating styles provided in an open and airy facility that now seats 900.

The Tuscarora Room more than doubled in size to 8,000 square feet to allow for larger banquets and special events.

The exterior was upgraded to not only make it more attractive, but also more energy efficient. For example, canopies were added along the southern façade to provide shading during the summer months. In addition, we received an Innovation Technology Network grant to add a solar cell to assist in heating domestic hot water

The project had a great deal of input from students, was done in seven phases that allowed us to continue to use it during construction and was completed several weeks ahead of schedule.

The projects total cost was approximately $17 million and I want to thank the design firm STV Architects, the general contractor Lobar Inc., which was also the electrical contractor, the HVAC contractor Silvertip, the plumbing contractor JR Reynolds, and EarthNet Energy for the solar addition.

Before we cut the ribbon, I also want to share some other interesting tidbits about Reisner.

It is believed to be the only Dining Hall in the United States to prepare traditionally fried foods via a high-pressure convection oven.

It serves 3,500 meals daily

150 gallons of milk are used daily

1,700 pounds of fresh vegetables are prepared daily

200 pounds of pizza dough is prepared fresh from scratch daily

And, my favorite, the hall, in conjunction with the art department, recycles 100 percent of its used grease into biodiesel fuel.

So if you walk around campus and think you smell French fries, you may actually smell a vehicle.Thank you again for being here and enjoy the day.